Hosting a silent auction at your home for 200 fashion-conscious women is a daunting task, especially when the items up for grabs are designer bags marked 60 percent off the retail price or, even better, an Armani Privé clutch donated by Cate Blanchett. "You could feel the frenzy," said L.A. socialite Colleen Bell, who hosted the fourth annual P.S. Arts Bag Lunch at her Bel-Air home with Elizabeth Stewart from The New York Times and C Magazine's George Kotsiopoulos. "Most of the guests got to the door and were like, 'Hi, hello, where are the bags?' "

With 100 percent of the proceeds going to arts education for California's public schools, attendees Reese Witherspoon, Zooey Deschanel, and Kristin Davis could feel good about spending big. After raising $180,000, everyone grabbed a "brown-bag lunch" filled with a Cobb salad or a gourmet sandwich and headed to the garden, where, Bell notes, "lots of sangria with fresh fruit" was served.

— Sarah Cristobal

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